The Cross: The Ultimate Compass

9/11 Video You were there

Introduction

Why the Cross?

Not the first symbol of Christian ID

ICHTUS -1st - 2nd Century

The Cross 5th Century

Many have made an idol of it

Others have twisted is meaning

Biblical Foundation

Galatians 6:14 NASB95

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 2:20 NASB95

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Romans 6:3 NASB95

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

Romans 6:6 NASB95

knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

The Cross and our Relationships

Matthew 22:34–40 (NASB95)

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together.

This entire chapter is about three kinds of people: Hypocrites, Ignorants & Intellectually honest.

Hypocrites

Matthew 22:18 NASB95

But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?

Ignorants

Matthew 22:29 NASB95

But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Intellectually Honest

One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

“This is the great and foremost commandment.

“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

The Two Commandments

Love God

With heart, soul and might! No aspect of your life can be compartmentalised outside of God’s love

Deuteronomy 6:4–6 NASB95

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.

This is the beginning of an exposition of the ten words, the ten commandments by Moses

The First Four Commandments

Exodus 20:1–11 (NASB95)

1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 1

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 2

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. 3

8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 4

9 “Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

11 “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

That is the vertical aspect of our relationship, Love God. The first four commandments

Love your Neighbor

Leviticus 19:18 NASB95

‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

Exodus 20:12–17 NASB95

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

You want to talk about justice? LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR!

The Cross is our Relational Compass

The Cross is a constant reminder of our responsibilities to God and to our Neighbors.

So what does this have to do with communion?

Have you ever gotten lost?

Now a days we have GPS

Before we needed a point, a landmark to help us get back on track

Baptism

Most christians have been baptized.

Baptism was our public expression of faith

But in our daily walk we often lose our way

That is when the symbol of the cross guides us back to Jesus

Foot Washing

Most christians don’t practice foot washing in as part of communion to their loss in my opinion.

We lose a significant aspect of the communion experience

Look at the conversation between Peter and Jesus

John 13:6–10 NASB95

6 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”

With this simple act Jesus reminded us that when we lose our way and our spiritual feet get dirty because of our sin, all we need is to wash them.

We don’t need to be re--baptized every month, just as married people don’t need to re-marry every time they have a fight.

If you are not baptized, perhaps this would be a good time to start thinking about it.

New Relationship Standards

John 13:13–17 NASB95

13 “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14 “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. 16 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

The Lord’s Supper

Today we celebrate communion. Before we part take together, I would like to offer a prayer of repentance and as a blessing of the symbols of the bread and the grape juice.

While the band sings please make your way and take a piece of bread and a cup and wait until everyone goes back to their seat.

I will give you instructions as to when we can all participate together

Luke 22:15 NASB95

15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

Luke 22:19–20 NASB95

19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.